My Thoughts on Mario Kart 8

So just like many Wii U owners, I recently got Mario Kart 8, and as of now, I have spent quite a lot of time playing the game. I wanted to share my thoughts on the game, so I've complied a bullet point list of the things I like and dislike from the game.

What I Liked

Just beautiful !!

beautiful stunning visuals, the most impressive I've ever seen on a Nintendo game to date - and this is my opinion but due to the chosen art style and presentation I think it beats various PS4 & XB1 games in the visual department

just like all Mario Kart games, the basic gameplay is fun

the game supports a bunch of control options so almost anyone can find a control scheme that suits them

new course designs are amazing (not a single new course I don't enjoy)

best overall retro course selection of the series and best remastering of retro courses in the series

anti-gravity is the best mechanic other than two players per Kart that the series has introduced (makes everything flow together well - visuals, hand gliding, underwater, strategy)

amazing soundtrack, the best of the entire series - plus the remakes of retro courses are amazing as well

attention to detail is superb (replay each course in Time Trails and stop to take everything in, and you can really garner an appreciation for all the little things the developers put into each course to make them unique and interesting)

AI is actually pretty smart compared to past games (they take shortcuts, always drift and speedboost, they use items wisely, and they seem more challenging overall than any of the past Mario Kart games since N64)

item balance is the best yet

the Koopalings

Kart stats actually feel like they have meaning this time around. In MK7 it was easy to get use to different combinations, here every stat feels like it effects the control, speed, and weight of your car. Personally, I really like this and it feels like there is more strategy to picking a kart that suits your play style.

Time Trials are pretty cool with the ability to see global rankings, take on staff and players' ghosts from around the world, compare times with players and friends from around the world, and chat about each specific courses through Miiverse

the ability to post replays on Miiverse and Youtube. Overall MKTV is actually a pretty cool idea, and while not perfect, is a good step in the right direction (-but see "what I didn't like" because I also feel like MKTV is a bit lacking-)

local multiplayer is still king

The Online

Let me just clarify, this is something that I liked! I just felt I needed to elaborate a bit on it. The online functionality is amazing. First and foremost, the process of setting up and/or finding a race is easy, quick, and simple. You log in, select your character and kart, and literally in a few seconds you'll be put into a lobby ready to go against players worldwide (or compete in Battle Mode), or you'll be put into a waiting lobby spectating a live race until it finishes where you then join that group and continue to play more races. You can customize your choices though: you can choose to race on different speed classes, have certain characters and vehicles, and even customize the amount and types of items you want to deal with in races before joining a lobby. In each lobby you select one of three random courses which will then be randomly picked as the next race. In these lobbies you can also send text messages to other players. You can easily join lobbies that your friends are in, and if you are playing with friends you can communicate through voice chat in the lobbies. The game also keeps a win-loss score count for you and each of your friends and past opponents you have raced against. Furthermore, the game keeps an over online score that either accumulates or lowers after races depending on how well you ranked, and keeping this score high is quite addicting.

However, the most interesting aspect of the online is the inclusion of tournaments. Here players can create tournaments with various different customization rules (ex. which items, no items, which characters, how many courses, speed classes, frantic items, etc.). The creator than selects a time frame and a day where other players can then join in and compete for the highest score under those specific rules to win. What's awesome about this is that there can be no limits to the amount of competitors and races at one time - it's the overall score that counts meaning anyone and everyone can play and compete. When tournaments are not live, players can compete against others in practice rounds. Another cool feature is that each tournament community as its own private Miiverse page where competitors can privately message each other and posts highlights. It's really cool, and overall it feels very modern. It's an excellent addition to this game.

He's a bit mad that the Year of Luigi ended ...

What I Don't Like

the character roaster could have used a few more series veterans (ex. Diddy, Birdo) and some more interesting characters (ex. Nabbit, E. Gadd, Fawful)

no element of surprise for unlocking characters - it's random, and no real challenge what-so-ever

no element of surprise for unlocking car parts - coins are fine, but there should have been a few hidden parts for extra unlockables

three starring all cups in all CCs has no incentive, the three star medal for online is gone

only incentive to keep playing the cups in single player is to unlock stamps by playing as each character

despite being cool, Mario Kart TV is too basic and I wish there was more features here and the ability to further edit using the Gamepad

low replay value for single player mode:

only thing to do is to replay cups, do time trials, set up a VS race against AI, or compete against AI in the Battle Mode

a Challenge Mode or Mission Mode, or even weekly events/challenges ((WHICH WHERE PRESENT IN PREVIOUS MARIO KART TITLES)) would have gone a long way to increase single player replay value

overall I just wish there was more to do. The gameplay is great but I can only play single player for so long before its repetition sinks in

something new, like maybe a new type of mode would have been great. It's still the same formula: cups and battle mode.

Battle Mode is not that great, feels like normal races with balloons tacked on and lots of green shells flying around. Also I hate comparing, but Double Dash, 4 Mario Karts ago had various battle modes (ex. Shine Runners), and today all we get is Balloon Battle?

That's literally the barren Single Player menu ...

Conclusion

Overall, the game is beautiful, the gameplay and track designs are great, the soundtrack is awesome, and the online is superb. However, the game has predicable and some very "meh" unlockables, the Battle Mode is not that great, and the single player mode is very thin with very little replay value. Also, it wouldn't have hurt to finally introduce some type of new mode to the series by now.

So there you have my opinions on Mario Kart 8, but what are yours. Let me know in the comments below. Until then, keep on gaming. (And for anyone interested add me on Wii U and we can take it to the race tracks and duke it out for some fun).